Man charged with abandoning vehicle with child inside

ALTON — A man who drove off in his girlfriend’s car with her young daughter last month, abandoning the vehicle and child, faces two misdemeanor charges and a traffic citation.

Authorities charged Micah Caleb Walker, 27, of the 2300 block of State Street in Alton, on Aug. 31 with unlawful interfering with the reporting of domestic violence and causing a child to be endangered. Alton police also cited Walker with driving on a suspended license following the Aug. 28 incident.

One of the charges says Walker and the woman, who is identified as his girlfriend, were arguing inside her Chrysler PT Cruiser as she drove on Alby Street at Homer Adams Parkway. The woman began calling 911 on her cellphone at about 8:15 a.m., but Walker allegedly took the phone from her, the charge says.

The woman continued driving in North Alton, exiting the car at the Hit ‘N Run Food Store, 2345 State St., where she called 911. She claimed the man had threatened her with a knife or razor, police said previously. Police later said they found no evidence of the man having such a weapon during the incident.

Lt. David DeWall, chief of detectives at the Alton Police Department, said after the woman left the car the suspect slid over to the driver’s seat and drove off down Belle Street hill. He allegedly drove into Alton Acres public housing complex, stopping the PT Cruiser in the 3100 block of Paul Street. The suspect then exited and ran east across Belle to a wooded area, leaving the child alone in the car at 8:19 a.m.

Police first said the girl was 3 years old, but the charge says she is 4 years old.

Officers searched for the man for about 30 minutes before he reappeared, with police taking him into custody without incident. The mother and child, who were not injured, were reunited in the meantime.

Court records show the woman filed for child support against Walker in behalf of her daughter, who shares the same initals as the young girl in the car.

They also show Walker has a court case pending on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge from December 2014 — related to an ex-girlfriend — who is not the woman involved in this incident.